Monday, January 01, 2018

2018 Resolutions

Whatever's goin' on in my noggin, I need to speak to someone about it.

DDPYoga, I will attempt to use you again.

As far as choosing the least healthiest option on the menu, I need to silence the impulse that makes me flick the "FUCK YEAH!" switch in my brain. Easier said than done.

2. Get better with money.

I've been able to save over $100 in change at times and temporarily stash money in a rainy day bank account. I'm also about eight months away from paying off my stupid line of credit. These are baby steps towards financial responsibility. I'm often hard on myself, but in this aspect, it's justified; I have to be strict on my spending – and hustle harder outside of the day job in order to have more to play with.

3. Draw, then draw some more.

I mentioned being hard on myself earlier; I'm still about drawing every day, but I'm no longer about beating myself up when I don't. And drawing can be anything from a fully fleshed out idea to a scribbled something that only I can understand. I'm just doing my best to get the ideas down when I get them. That's the important part. I've decided to take Kasey Golden's approach to sketchbooking. I was already sort of doing the same thing, but she pushes every idea before going to the final piece.

My hope is that the getting-the-idea-down-and-posting thing will lead to something – opportunities, etc. Right now, I'm still coasting on the good feeling I got from the props I received from an illustrator I admire. I was just signing up for his mailing list when I got a personal response and this postscript. It made my day. Hell, it pretty much made my year! I figure I'm on the right track. I just need to keep pushing and update my portfolio.

4. Tidiness.

During the holidays, I teamed up with my wife and my mom to tidy up two trouble spots for the holidays: the living room and the kitchen. From there, I felt the impetus to move a ton of shit from our beleaguered dining room back into my workspace, which had been repaired months ago thanks to my father-in-law. I wanna keep this up. The first floor may be fully functional again!

Some new shit:

5. Get that computer fixed.

The display on my iMac is fucked. What took one "on" button press to turn on has gone from three presses to 10+ presses, to rarely functional. Not cool. I want to make stuff. I need this thing working to make stuff. Either a secondary monitor will be coming into play or a refurbished iMac. I don't wanna do either, really.

6. Watch more movies/even more YouTube.

I've never thought of myself as the biggest cinephile, but I do like a satisfying flick. My attention span is so messed up that I only really watch short YouTube vids, some of which are in my 300+ video "watch later" playlist. I'd like to whittle that down to 150.

I need to challenge myself to watch more documentaries and dramas. And anime...can't forget the anime.

7. Buy more music.

I still read liner notes. I want that music IN MY HANDS, MAN.

8. Get more and better sleep.

Needless to say, this is related to resolution 1. I have a sleep disorder. I've had it for years. I feel the need to be reassessed regarding this condition because things could be better.

9. Be more like Satoshi Kojima.

For those unfamiliar with Kojima-san, he's one of the elder statesmen of New Japan Pro Wrestling. He's held many a title as a singles competitor and as a tag team with Hiroyoshi Tenzan. And as proven through his Twitter posts, he LOVES bread.

He's also incredibly positive. He loves his job and knows his place in the world.